Why sleep in a 5 star hotel when you can sleep under a million of them?

The night before the journey I didn't sleep much as my emotions about the trip and about saying my goodbyes didn't let me get to sleep. I got up at 4am to get a train to Gatwick where my flight departed from. Tanya got up with me and accompanied me to the train station and from there I left alone, on this long journey.

I weighed the rucksack at the airport – 14 kilos is not the weight I would most like to carry but I know that I'll get rid of things en route, such as a kind of Colombian fruit paste that I'm taking for my aunt's friend in Moscow, the guidebook, a Russian dictionary and other things.

I arrived in Helsinki on a rainy and quiet afternoon, a bit out of it from all the tiredness and lack of sleep and also from all the thoughts swimming around my head. I took a look at the city and made my way towards where I was going to stay, with a Finnish guy called Arto that I met on Couchsurfing.

Arto is an amazing person, himself having done a really long trip by bike for several months from Finland to Turkey, then on various routes in India, Cambodia and Thailand. His travel experiences were very inspiring and entertaining to listen to. He gave me a lot of advice and lent me a book called 'vagabonding' which I devoured in the three days that I was in his house. On the first night we camped on an island 15 minutes from Helsinki called Pihlajasaari, we ate under the stars watching the lights of Helsinki, and Arto entertained me with his many stories of camping and living a very different life from most people in Finland. He works part time 9 months per year and the rest of his time is devoted to his hobbies, like leading a Japanese-Finnish group, participating in Linux-Finland, camping, travelling and meeting travellers. He told me a saying that I liked a lot: 'Why sleep in a 5 star hotel when you can sleep under a million of them?'

The following morning we explored the island more and found this sign.

Arto had invited me to a sauna session due to take place that evening with his friends and I was glad to accept his invitation. It reminded me of when I lived with a Finnish woman 6 years ago. The woman was about 90 years old and she told me that one day she went to a nudist beach with her daughters, son-in-law, grandchildren and great grandson; I was speechless and asked her if they were all naked and I remember the old woman making fun of me, saying 'it's true, you Latin Americans have a certain problem with nudity'. It was because of my long conversations with Kaarina (the Finnish woman) that I started my trip in Helsinki (and also because of the cheaper flights – translator's note :) ) I knew what I had to do and when we got to the sauna we all undressed. The sauna was electric, not the traditional type, and all of Arto's friends spoke English amongst themselves out of politeness. I also played petanque for the first time but didn't have any beginner's luck.

The following day it was time for me to have a proper look at the city. I rambled along its streets, rather than trying to see specific places of interest. I went on a trip to Suomelinna, another island in Helsinki's bay which was where there was a fort which prevented Helsinki from being taken from the sea. There I did a drawing for Arto for his 'guest wall'. As the next day I was going to St Petersburg I asked about the cheapest way of getting there. There are three options: train, Finnish bus or Russian mini bus (known throughout Russia as the Marshrutka).

The Marshrutka is the cheapest option, as long as you know where they leave from! Arto told me more or less where to find it but it took me a while. When I finally found it I had my first warning that I would soon have to leave the communicational paradise that is Finland, where bus drivers speak English, to go into Russia where I would have to do everything in sign language because my Russian learning has NOT gone well.

That night at Arto's house I made Colombian rice with panela, a Colombian brown sugarloaf. We listened to music and I finished reading the interesting parts of 'Vagabonding'. The following day, I left with my bags after having breakfast with Arto. On the Marshrutka I met an American student who, for reasons of Russian bureaucracy, had to have two passports to be able to study in two different Russian cities.

That is how I finished my short stay in Finland, which strangely is the northenmost place where I'll be on this trip. I really liked Helsinki with its free concerts, nature and thanks to my conversations with Arto and his advice. He reminded me of Kaarina, the Finnish woman in Brighton – he had similar facial expressions, a similar accent and his way of speaking had aspects that reminded me of my long conversations with Kaarina.

Right now I'm in a Russian city called Novosibirsk in Western Siberia. I have lots to tell but in another post.

To check the pictures on the original post in spanish go here